The Girl is Mine
by ThisAccountIsNowInactive354085
Summary: What happens when Tsubomi gives up on having Yaya as anything but a friend? What happens when a childhood crush might become more? Will Yaya let this slide? Probably not. YayaXTsubomi and other well-known pairings including later ChikaruXShion!
1. Prologue: I Love I Want I Need Her

**So this is a new story- YayaXTsubomi as always and some ShionXChikaru thrown in for the fangirls =)**

**What happens when Tsubomi gives up on Yaya and tries to be happy just to have her as a friend? **

**What happens when someone from Tsubomi's past resurfaces? A past love? **

**And what's going on with Shion and Chikaru?**

**And guys- I do not recommend online dating. Especially online dating of the lesbian variety. But it could just be me, always attracting the weirdos =P Like, every time I've EVER met someone I really want to be with online it either A. doesn't work out because they don't return the feelings or B. doesn't work because they aren't serious =/ And it's usually unrequited, and it's NEVER been on an online dating site. So yeah. Don't recommend online dating on dating SITES. If you meet someone you like online, fine, but dating sites? NO. NONONONO. I've attracted this weird chick and have no way to get rid of her =P **

**The Girl is Mine**

**Prologue: I Love I Want I Need (Her)**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

_How does it feel?_

_ How does it feel to want something with everything you are only to realize that you'll never hold it in your hands? Feel it in your heart?_

_ You can fill yourself with fantasies, but when you open your eyes, it will always be the same story- she'll be there, you'll be here, she'll love Hikari and you'll still love her._

_ Pathetic._

_ Stupid little underclassman thinks she has a chance with one of the most sought-after girls at the school- one of the most sought after girls who loves the most beautiful girl. _

_ And then there's you- scrawny, nagging, immature…you._

_ How does it feel to be in love with the girl who's in love with an angel?_

_ How does it feel?_

**PGBR**

_Poke._

"Tsu-bo-mi-chan…"

_Pokepoke._

"Tsubomi-chaaaaaan…"

_POKE._

"OI, PINKER!"

Yaya's shout was enough to both jerk Tsubomi out of her daze and to cause the younger girl to drop her fork into her mutilated breakfast. "_What?_" she snapped, whipping her head around to face the previously smirking Yaya, who now looked semi-dejected at having been ignored. The pout quickly morphed into a smirk with Tsubomi's reaction, and Yaya leaned well into the pinkette's personal space, grinning up at her like a lion.

"What's got_ you_ thinking so hard?" she drawled, poking Tsubomi's shoulder for the fifth time. Her grin widened. "Oh, I know- Tsubomi-chan's thinking about Hi-ka-riiii!" she sang, loud enough to draw the attention of the neighboring tables before Tsubomi clapped a hand over her mouth. "Mmph!"

"Shut up, baka!" Tsubomi hissed, unconsciously pressing herself closer to the girl, making Yaya stop struggling and start smirking again. "I don't like Hikari-sempai!" she added in a huff, cheeks burning. It was true, but she could feel the eyes of practically the entire dining area on her. She sighed and dropped her hands, moving away from Yaya and trying not to shiver when the brunette's arm slid lazily around her waist. "Only two more days of the semester, and now this…"

"You're going home over vacation?" Yaya asked, her brow furrowed unhappily for the briefest moment before she threw her other arm around Tsubomi. "My Tsubomi-chan is _leaving _me!" she wailed dramatically. Tsubomi flushed bright red- if the entire dining room hadn't been staring at them before…she struggled, but Yaya was much stronger than her, despite her feminine appearance. "She doesn't _love _me anymore!"

_Baka, she really is the blindest person in the world, _Tsubomi thought bitterly, giving up her doomed struggle. "Calm down, Yaya-baka," she muttered. "It's only for a week, because my parents are holding a Christmas party and they really want me to come." Actually, they wanted her to bring a friend too, to prove that she actually _had _them, she assumed, but she'd given up on working up the courage to ask the upperclassmen, who probably had plans with Hikari. After a moment's contemplation, Tsubomi bit her bottom lip in nerves. She had to try to get over Yaya, but if she only alienated the girl, the feelings would just come back stronger when she saw her again. The least she could do was drop a hint- what could it hurt? "They wanted me to bring someone because I guess they're worried that I don't have any friends like before…" She was cut off by a loud bark of laughter from Yaya and growled under her breath.

Once Yaya had calmed down, she wiped her eyes and slumped back (unladylike as ever) into her chair, amber eyes staring into Tsubomi's. "So you were going to leave me and not invite me or anything, squirt?" she asked after a minute of silence. "I'm hurt."

"You're not," Tsubomi muttered in reply, more out of reflex than anything. "And I didn't invite you because you'd probably make a scene or something," she added under her breath so that the brunette couldn't draw any (true) conclusions.

She heard Yaya huff and glanced at the older girl to find her staring down at her plate with an almost…_hurt _look on her face. "I would not," she muttered, flipping her hair back and attempting to resume her usual aura of casual nonchalance.

Tsubomi couldn't help but melt a little at the pout firmly cemented on Yaya's face and decided to take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tease the brunette. "Yaya-sempai isn't very good at hiding her emotions," she noted under her breath, her smile widening of its own accord when the older girl huffed again. Tsubomi turned back to her own food, her insides warring against each other. She had to get away from Yaya, and this could only bring them closer…but if Yaya wasn't with her, she would be with Hikari… And Tsubomi had to decide what was more important- that her feelings were spared or that Yaya's feelings not stray even further to Hikari.

Tsubomi may have been mature for her age, but at the end of the day she was only a teenage girl, and the world knows how well teenage girls are at protecting their emotions. _At least if she's with me, she won't be able to spend more time with Hikari-sempai, _was Tsubomi's final rational thought before- "If you want to come _that _badly, I guess you can."

It wasn't a warm invitation by any means, but the way Yaya perked up Tsubomi felt as though she'd given a little boy a puppy on Christmas morning.

_Damn, now she'd have to find the perfect gift…_

**Okay, so what do you think? Leave a review if you want me to continue, guys =) I'm ignoring all/any rules involving leaving the campus during holidays because let's face it- it's more entertaining this way. Peace!**


	2. One: Dazed and Confused

**So this is a new story- YayaXTsubomi as always and some ShionXChikaru thrown in for the fangirls =)**

**What happens when Tsubomi gives up on Yaya and tries to be happy just to have her as a friend? **

**What happens when someone from Tsubomi's past resurfaces? A past love? **

**And what's going on with Shion and Chikaru?**

**So I've recently gotten sick and started re-watching The L Word because I have nothing better to do and oh my god. I GET that Shane is charming and sexy and all, but I cannot POSSIBLY be the ONLY girl swooning over Helena Peabody. I mean, yeah, she's kind of bratty and dismissive, and that thing with pregnant girls is kind of awkward, but come ON. She's just…oh my god. She can be the sweetest thing and I find her naivety to be quite horribly cute. Plus she's a total dom and KIND OF reminds me of Yaya in that she is devoted to the girl she cares for and doesn't know how to handle not getting her way. (I'm skillfully ignoring the fact that I remind myself of Jenny in more ways than one)**

**I feel like Tsubomi, guys, except with less colorful hair and not quite as obnoxious- forever in love with a Yaya who will never love me back. The resemblance between our situations is uncanny.**

**And now my roomie went and got me sick =P**

**SinnX: Thanks! With Chikaru as one of the main characters, writing in character will be an extra challenge, but hopefully I'll make it believable =)**

**Shadow Apparation: It'll certainly be interesting when she meets Tsubomi's mother- I kind of dealt with her father in this chapter because I had a kind of 'blah businessman' personality set for him, because I don't want her parents to play a HUGE role.**

**Huggler: Poor Tsubomi always (ALWAYS) gets the brunt of the abuse in the SP fandom, doesn't she? Her and Tamao, that is ( I kind of have a plan for Tamao later on, but it's still in the making). And I'll do my best =) Right now I'm struggling to keep things going and in character. I think my problem is that I write long fics without thinking where to end them xD**

**Suicchin: Thanks =) **

**Tmj1395: I'm glad you're so excited =) I missed Chikaru and Shion, so I've decided to put this up =) And thanks- I think I might have solved them though =)**

**Obsidian and Cobalt: Thanks =)**

**Kaze Rei: Thanks for the advice- everyone is telling me to do that but I have problems being even mean-ish =P But I think I got rid of her… anyway thanks, and I hope it lives up to your expectations =)**

**So I have a question for you all- once you're done reading this chapter, I want you to tell me who you think Tamao should be with (in case I decide to expand my fic, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone by this point xD). I don't want her with Nagisa- that is to say, I want an unusual pairing, but not an IMPOSSIBLE one. So if you have an opinion, please share that along with your review =)**

**The Girl is Mine**

**Chapter One: Dazed and Confused**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

Tsubomi woke up extra-early the morning that she and Yaya would be leaving the Hill- not due to nerves so much as it was due to a pair of wide eyes staring a hole into the back of her head.

"_Chiyo_," Tsubomi growled, noting the way Kagome's eyes flashed at the lack of suffice, "_please _call off your girlfriend."

A second later a stuttering, blushing Chiyo stumbled into the room from the bathroom. "Sorry, Tsubomi-chan," she said, her face red. "Kagome-chan?"

Kagome ignored the words of her girlfriend and continued to stare at Tsubomi, who stared right back. "What are your intentions with my girlfriend?"

"Oh my _god_," Tsubomi muttered, slipping out of bed. "Telling her to stop crying in her sleep might be where I'd start." Kagome narrowed her eyes and the pinkette quickly grabbed her clothes and hopped into the bathroom, out of harm's way.

**PGBR**

Tsubomi left the room about fifteen minutes later, grumbling about stupid crybabies and strange little girls with major issues. "I can't believe _Chiyo _got a girlfriend before me," she muttered.

"Now that _is _pathetic."

Tsubomi jumped about a foot in the air, clutching her chest because she thought her heart was about to bust out of it. It was bad enough that it raced whenever Yaya was in the general vicinity, but combined with the shock… "Shut up, Yaya-senpai," she mumbled as she slumped against the wall beside the lounging brunette, feeling her heartbeat slow gradually.

The older girl sighed dramatically, thrusting an arm over the pinkette's shoulder. "Such is life- don't worry, Tsubomi-chan, you'll find a girl soon enough," she said dramatically. "You've got that cute kind of face that the studs just love to take and corrupt." The brunette laughed heartily when the small bundle under her arm let out a yelp. "Don't worry, I'll protect you pinky," she murmured, lowering her voice and speaking these words into Tsubomi's hair, almost as if…

Tsubomi slapped herself mentally- she wouldn't allow herself to be roped into believing that Yaya actually cared for her. Damn her and her overactive imagination… "Let go," she grumbled, shrugging out from underneath Yaya's arm. The brunette was taken aback by Tsubomi's sudden mood shift, but managed to keep Tsubomi under her arm easily enough, given the considerable height difference.

The pinkette growled and folded her arms tightly over her chest, stomping out of the school with Yaya in tow. "My dad's going to pick us up in about half an hour," she said as they walked out into the shared Commons, plopping down on a bench. "_Try _to behave?"

Yaya grinned. "I _always _behave," she boasted, leaning back and stretching, thrusting an arm over Tsubomi's shoulder. The pinkette rolled her eyes and shoved Yaya's arm away. "Parents love me."

"That's lame, even for you," Tsubomi said coolly. "If you were actually trying to get a girl you would've ruined it."

Leaning forward into Tsubomi's personal space, Yaya grinned and ran her tongue over her pearly teeth. "Well it's a good thing I'm just messing around," she purred, which had the awkward effect of sending shivers down Tsubomi's spine at the same time as it made her stomach ache with the unfairness of her life.

**PGBR**

It was dead quiet in the council room- far too quiet, Chikaru thought as she slowly slumped lower in her chair, peeking out over the top of her binder. Miyuki was sitting beside her looking pompous as ever, hands clasped over her proposal as she waited for the others to finish reading it. Turning to face directly across the table, Chikaru noted that Shion had turned an unhealthy shade of fuchsia. She smiled slightly to herself- after knowing Shion for the better part of her life, she had a relatively good idea of what was coming next.

_Silly Shion…always so stubborn, so blunt…_

_ So oblivious…_

"This is preposterous!"

Chikaru smiled.

_So predictable._

Miyuki slowly raised her icy gaze to meet with the fiery violet eyes of the Spican president. "How so?" she asked coldly, one eyebrow raised. "Do tell, Toumori-san."

Chikaru swore she heard Shion growl under her breath and suppressed the urge to giggle. They were complete opposites in every way- Miyuki fought with her ice and Shion fought with her fire, her temper. Noting the way Shion's vein was bulging, Chikaru cleared her throat, calling every eye in the room onto her. Smiling enigmatically, she proceeded. "Miyuki-san," she began, ignoring the tedious look on the blunette's face at the use of her first name, "I believe that Toumori-san has a problem with the division of assets in your plan. I, of course, would opt to stay out of the issue entirely, but it does appear that Spica and Le Rim's benefits would be…scant in comparison to Miator's."

Miyuki's lips pursed, her jaw tightening as she realized she'd been caught. No one dared to argue with Chikaru- not only would it be pointless, but it would make said person seem foolish and outright mean. Out of the corner of her eye, Chikaru noted a flash of hurt in Shion's eyes.

"Fine," Miyuki practically spat, ripping the proposal from the hands of the Le Rim council as well as Kaname and Momomi, who held theirs out dismissively. Shion's lip curled and she flung the packet at the Miator president before her slim hands had a chance to snatch it away.

"Have fun rewriting that, Rokujou-san," Momomi trilled as she flounced out of the room on Kaname's arm, a sickly sweet smile on her face. Chikaru frowned after her, wondering why on earth she was still with Kaname after what had happened.

Chikaru understood many things- Tamao, for example, loved Nagisa simply because she needed someone to love, someone to care for. Shizuma played with the hearts of young girls because she was terrified that she didn't have one, and hoped that maybe one day it would hurt when she tossed that special girl away. Miyuki was bitter because she had to watch, bitter because Shizuma toyed with her heart just like all the rest. Yaya longed for Hikari because she'd longed for her so long that it was all that made sense to her. Tsubomi stayed, watching and arguing, because she was afraid that if she did anything else, she would lose the one person she held dear. Shion (and this was where it started to hurt)…Shion wanted what was best for Spica, wanted to leave her legacy for generations to come; greatness flowed in her very blood. And she…Chikaru…she wanted Shion, wanted the girl who wanted the world and was blind to everything outside it.

But when Chikaru looked at Momomi, she didn't see what she used to see in those narrowed, calculating eyes. There was the love, still, but now there was also hurt, distrust, and some kind of wisdom that Chikaru was sure hadn't been a painless lesson. Momomi had no reason to stay by Kaname's side other than the fact that it was what she had always done. It was the only thing she had ever known, Chikaru knew- she'd seen them together since her first year at Astraea Hill. A small brunette with stars in her eyes, devoted to a conniving snake of a girl whose eyes were always focused somewhere else.

"Chikaru."

Chikaru blinked, having been jolted from her thoughts by the gruff voice off to her right. Looking up, she found Shion standing there, shoes scuffing the floor almost nervously, her hand rubbing the back of her neck the way it always had when she was flustered. "Toumori-san," Chikaru said, recovering almost instantly with a sweet smile. "Is there something I can help you with?"

A low growl escaped Shion's throat, sending an involuntary shiver down Chikaru's spine, one that she hadn't felt in what felt like forever. "Have I done something to offend you?" she finally ground out, as if it pained her to do so.

Chikaru giggled. "Why would you say that, Toumori-san?" she asked with that same smile. "You're always so unfailingly polite."

"Then why do you call me by my last name and Rokujou-san…and everyone else by their first?" Shion demanded, sounding a bit like a petulant child. "Not that I condone such behavior but…I've known you longer than any of them, anyway," she finished in a huff.

"My my, _Shion_-san, are you jealous?" Chikaru cooed in a skillful lilt, not wanting to overstep her boundaries. "I believe it was you who asked me not to- three years ago, when we first entered the student council. You said it wasn't…professional…to mix politics and personal life." She finished with a teasing smile, her chin rested upon her intertwined fingers.

"I'M NOT-" Shion's jaw muscles clenched. "I'm not _jealous_," she hissed through gritted teeth, though Chikaru knew this iciness wouldn't last long. Shion was never good at controlling her emotions and making cutting, biting remarks; she was always abrupt, always loud, preferring to make her point with her temper rather than to wait it out and seek revenge.

It was that part of her- one of the parts- that had caused the indomitable Chikaru Minamoto to fall so hard.

"Is that so?"

"_Yes,_" Shion growled. "Why would I be jealous?"

Chikaru shrugged lightly. "I have no idea," she said with a small smile. "But it appears to be the only logical conclusion- or perhaps you are so caught up in your rivalry that your feelings for Rokujou-san have evolved to something…more…and you do not appreciate me speaking so familiarly with her…" She broke off, meeting the flaming violet eyes shyly, while secretly her insides were a mess of nerves, praying that Shion wouldn't blush, wouldn't shout…wouldn't be flustered like she always had been whenever she was trying to hide something.

Thankfully, the blonde only scoffed. "Hardly," she replied in a scathing tone. "My _feelings _lie elsewhere…" For a moment, Chikaru thought she saw a flicker of uncertainty in Shion's eyes.

"With Spica, I presume?" she asked in a soft tone, looking at the Spican imploringly.

Shion cleared her throat, her cheeks flushing slightly. "I, um…well, yes, I suppose," she said, her words a jumbled mess. Chikaru tilted her head and smiled sweetly- lies, she knew. And she had expected as much- the only thing that surprised her was the pain she felt in her heart.

_And why does it still hurt so terribly after all this time? Don't you ever learn, you stupid, stupid girl?_

**PGBR**

Yaya sat in the back seat of the car, arms folded and legs crossed, a smug smile lighting her lips.

"Your face is going to get stuck that way," Tsubomi growled from beside her, her red cheeks puffed out in a very impressive pout.

"Who didn't believe me when I said I was good with parents?" the brunette asked in a teasing lilt. "I know it wasn't _you_…"

"Shut up, Yaya-baka!" Tsubomi snapped, unwittingly raising her voice.

"Tsubomi! Show your senpai some respect," a male voice called from the front seat. "I'm sorry for my daughter's behavior, Nanto-san," Tsubomi's father said in a lower voice.

Infuriating smirk still in place, Yaya replied. "It's no problem, Okuwaka-san. I'm pretty used to it by now." She winked at the pinkette, who stuck out her tongue in return.

Tsubomi huffed and folded her arms over her chest, turning away from the object of her affections. "Baka," she muttered under her breath.

"Tsubomi! Watch your tone!"

The pinkette looked up to find Yaya mouthing 'Watch your _tone_' at her and made a face at the brunette, kicking out at the older girl's feet. Yaya jumped back as much as she could in the seat of the car with a lion-like grin on her features, using her momentum to swing forward and press a kiss to the enraged pinkette's cheek. She pulled back with a wink and a lewd gesture with her tongue, causing Tsubomi to flush even redder than she already had been.

"Cut it out," Tsubomi muttered, wiping her cheek roughly with the back of her hand and ignoring Yaya's false hurt look. She glanced down and sighed. "At least put on your seatbelt," she said in the same low, embarrassed tone.

Yaya's face broke into a wide grin. "Aww, my Tsubomi-chan _cares _about my safety!" she crooned, causing Tsubomi to dart across the median and clap a hand over her mouth, simultaneously pulling the damn belt across her waist.

"Not in front of my dad," she hissed into Yaya's ear, shoving away to retreat back to her side, leaving a confused and slightly hurt brunette watching after her.

Tsubomi stared out the window, her forehead pressed against the cold, hard glass as she tried to ignore the warm, soft body beside her. She couldn't believe how accustomed she'd grown to having Yaya as her personal pillow- despite the brunette's teasing, the embraces were genuine shows of affection. It was the way the older girl showed her friendship and loyalty, and that was extended to Tsubomi. Now without that availability… She saw Yaya's arm shift out of the corner of her eye and scooted further away, her eyes staring determinedly out the window. She could feel the hurt stare burning into the back of her head, but it had to be this way.

Tsubomi had to get over Yaya, and even if she didn't, her parents had no idea of the happenings at Astraea Hill and if they did…she would rather suffer her feelings in silence than lose the brunette altogether. Tsubomi knew her mother well enough to know that many of her gossipy friends would be attending the party, and that some of them would probably already be there by the time they arrived, having flown in early. She remembered one woman in particular- a rather unfortunate-looking pseudo-aristocrat with a son about her age who Tsubomi had bonded with a few years prior, the year before she entered Astraea Hill. She hoped he would be there- anything to distract her from the girl sitting beside her.

**Everything in character so far? I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to approach the Shion/Chikaru storyline, but hopefully it'll turn out well. I do love writing from Chikaru's perspective- it's a bit of a challenge, but it's fun to be able to do character studies from her POV, and to imagine how she would see the world.**


	3. Two: Love this Crazy Life

**So this is a new story- YayaXTsubomi as always and some ShionXChikaru thrown in for the fangirls =)**

**What happens when Tsubomi gives up on Yaya and tries to be happy just to have her as a friend? **

**What happens when someone from Tsubomi's past resurfaces? A past love? **

**And what's going on with Shion and Chikaru?**

**Huggler: Hey, don't down on yourself- it took me a long time to be able to write like I do. You should see my work even a couple years ago. I've taken tons of AP classes in high school to help my writing along. And I don't think your writing is bad at all- I actually liked your storyline, by the way, for the Yaya/Tsubomi story you put up =) And yeah, Yaya cares deeply about her Tsubomi, but unfortunately it's gonna get a bit more angsty before it gets better =/**

**Shadow Apparation: In my experience it's people like Yaya who do the best with parents- charming, hard to threaten, you know. And I'm not sure what I'm going to have be the storyline with Tsubomi rejecting Yaya's advances…I don't think her mom will be, but her dad might…at this point it's just Tsubomi trying to block her out. And hmm, Tamao and Momomi….actually that pairing HAS crossed my mind before.**

**MalokaiKuhlua: I'm actually working on a new chapter for Thorns (which I hopefully saved before my computer shut down on me xP because it was a great chapter).**

**Tmj1395: I'll keep the Tamao/Miyuki pairing in mind- right now it's between those two and Tamao/Momomi (if the KanaMomo fans don't stone me to death xP)**

**Narcoleptic Valencian: Thanks! I do love Tsubomi and her tsundereness...I think she's just trying to spare her heart =) And Tina's a bitch, and when she's not, she reminds me of a lezzie version of my mom xD I adore Helena, she's such a sweetheart. (plus I'm a sucker for brunette's, especially with sexy accents. And her eyes just make me swoon)I actually ship Helena/Alice because of their close friendship and their awesome compatibility. Alice falls to easily for people and needs a lot of attention and Helena trusts and loves too easily. They complete each other =D I also ship HelenaXMe, because everyone needs something to believe in xD**

**So I'm uploading this chapter early because I'm about to have to wait a while to be with my laptop again =,( That is if that company goes through with the warranty...**

**The Girl is Mine**

**Chapter Two: Love this Crazy Life**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

Yaya was confused.

Not to say that she wasn't confused a lot of the time these days, what with her stomach not heaving at the sight of Hikari and her prince as much, and her new main glomp-toy. The latter, however, was the problem at the moment- every time she got near Tsubomi, even if she just made the slightest movement, the pinkette would shy away, or suddenly decide that she had to run off to the restroom or something.

Yaya frowned.

She didn't like it.

And she intended to say something about it, too, only she'd never been the best with her feelings, and what exactly did this _mean_, anyway? She slid down in the seat so that the seatbelt slid up to her mid-stomach and her legs were cramped behind the driver's seat. She chanced a glance over at Tsubomi, who was watching her with a worried frown, but quickly turned her head when Yaya caught her.

A few minutes later the car cruised to a stop in a rather large driveway off to the side of a nice looking house. It wasn't quite as large as Yaya's, but it was nothing to look down on, for sure. The brunette slid out of the car and sidled over to Tsubomi, who was dusting herself off, looking a little shaky from the long ride. She wrapped her arms around the slender waist, feeling the pinkette's muscles tensing at the contact.

"Yaya-senpai," Tsubomi began in her warning tone, her gaze flitting nervously to her father. "Let _go_."

"Why?" Yaya asked in a commanding tone, spinning on her heel so that she was facing the pinkette. "I mean, you always tell me to let go, but you never really _mean _it."

Tsubomi scoffed. "You don't know that," she replied, not meeting Yaya's eyes. "Maybe I just don't want to deal with you for a prolonged period of time." She wrapped her arms around her stomach protectively, ducking her head away from Yaya's amber eyes. Tsubomi had been procrastinating and she knew it- she was going to have to start distancing herself from the brunette eventually. It wasn't even as if she was being distant at all- Yaya was just the overly affectionate type and took the fact that Tsubomi was pulling away as in insult. "Geez," she muttered, ducking her head down to conceal her expression.

Yaya opened her mouth for a moment before closing it again. This side of Tsubomi was entirely new to her, and she wasn't sure she liked it- she definitely didn't like the part that didn't want her arms around her. "That's not-"

"Let's go inside," Tsubomi said, cutting her off as she took off at a clipped pace for the door only to be enfolded within the arms of a thin woman who seemed to be a taller version of herself. Yaya tilted her head at the odd scene but shook it away, stepping up beside the two and waiting to be introduced. Contrary to what Tsubomi seemed to think, Yaya knew exactly how to handle parents of all sorts- she was a natural charmer, and had her fair share of experience. Tsubomi pulled out of her mother's arms and turned back to the brunette, who took this as her cue to step up beside the pinkette. "Mom, this is Nanto Yaya, my friend from school."

"It's nice to meet you, Okuwaka-san. You have a beautiful home." Yaya grinned and held out her hand to shake, only to be pulled into a bone-crushing hug. She choked slightly before wrapping her arms gently around Tsubomi's mother. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Tsubomi huffing and folding her arms over her chest.

"And what a lovely friend she is!" Tsubomi's lookalike mother cooed, cupping the brunette's face in her hands. Yaya smiled winningly up at the older woman while Tsubomi rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Mom, don't," she muttered, her tone slightly sharp as she tugged at Yaya's sleeve. Taking the hint, the brunette gently ducked away from the embrace and turned to face Tsubomi with a questioning expression. The pinkette refused to acknowledge her.

Her mother just shook her head. "Well, Nanto-san, welcome to our home," she said with a cheerful smile. "And please, feel free to call me Mari."

"Hai, Mari-sama," Yaya said with a grin. "You can just call me Yaya, or one of the variations that Tsubomi's invented." Said girl growled.

The older pinkette tittered in delight, following her husband inside, and going on about "charming young ladies" and "amazing genes". Yaya smirked only to be elbowed by a rather huffy pinkette.

"Hey!" she complained, more out of shock than anything else. "What'd I do?"

Tsubomi puffed out her cheeks, turning her head away from Yaya's eyes. "You didn't have to act all 'charming' around my mom, you know. She'll find out what a baka you are sooner or later," the pinkette said. "You can't really hold it in too well."

Yaya raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the wall of the porch. "If you're gonna get all jealous of your mom, I think I should at least be allowed to _hug_ you," she replied, smiling smugly when the pinkette turned bright red. "Hey, you look like a valentine, Tsubomi-chan!" she cried delightedly, poking a crimson cheek.

"Shut up!" Tsubomi snapped, stomping into the house while Yaya sauntered leisurely in after her. They reached what Yaya assumed was Tsubomi's room and she couldn't help but laugh at the pink interior, earning her a growl from the pinkette. "Shut up," she muttered again.

"Is that all you're gonna say to me now?" Yaya asked, plopping down on the large, fluffy bed in the center of the room. "After I chose to spend my vacation with you?"

Tsubomi paused right as she was heading to her desk, her knuckles tightening around the spinning chair. "If you wanted to spend your vacation with Hi- back at Spica, nobody _forced _you to come," she said, though it came out less neutral and more hurt-sounding than she'd wanted it to. "In fact, I specifically remember you _begging _to come-"

She was interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around her waist- tightly, this time, and she couldn't slip free. It seemed Yaya had learned from her mistakes. _Haha. About damn time. _"I know, I know," the brunette said in a calming voice, though Tsubomi could hear the playful smile. "I was just kidding, Tsu-bo-mi-chan," she cooed.

"Let go," Tsubomi said half-heartedly. If she was going to keep up with the façade, she was going to have to go all the way, not just in public. She heard Yaya sigh behind her and knew that the brunette wasn't going to just let it drop like she had before. Eventually the older girl was going to want a real explanation.

Yaya was about to reply when Mari pushed open the door, and was shocked when Tsubomi promptly leapt out of her arms with some kind of super-pixie strength. "Dinner is in an hour, girls," the woman said cheerfully. "And Tsubomi-chan, make sure you look nice- I've invited Akira and Daisuke," she finished with a wink.

_Oh, so that was the old hag's name… _Tsubomi shook the thought from her head at the mention of her childhood friend, and the first real smile that day lit her face. "Alright, mom," she said, blushing slightly. She was too happy to have a distraction- someone else to take up her time- to really be upset about her mother's embarrassing actions. Mari nodded with a smirk and headed back down the stairs.

"So…" Tsubomi turned to find Yaya still sitting on her bed, frowning slightly and rubbing the back of her neck. "Who's this Daisuke person?"

"None of your business," the younger girl promptly stated, flipping her hair over her shoulder and turning to her wardrobe. She heard a rustling somewhere behind her and turned, outfit in hand, to find Yaya sprawled out on her back on the bed. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," Yaya said, "why don't you come see?" She raised her head slightly to reveal her classic grin, and Tsubomi rolled her eyes. The pinkette headed towards the bed anyway and sat down, looking down at the relaxed older girl.

Mistake.

The feelings flooded her body all at once- the why's, the but's, and most of all, the what-if's.

Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn't she be lying there, next to Yaya, resting against her shoulder?

But she shouldn't think like that, she would only get hurt. But even Yaya was bound to notice her feelings eventually.

What if she hadn't fallen for Yaya?

And then…

What if she was beautiful like Hikari?

Would she have a chance, then?

"What are you thinking about?"

Tsubomi glanced over at Yaya with a start, and was subsequently met with an imploring amber gaze full of concern and care that she was certain would disappear in time. "None of your business," she said quietly, then, louder, "I'm just wondering what to wear, if you must know."

A strange look crossed the brunette's face, a mix between a smirk and a frown, almost as if she were pretending to smile. "You still didn't tell me who he was," she commented. "Or why your mom wants you to dress up for him."

"Does it really matter?" Tsubomi said, her cheeks flushing slightly under the intense observation. "He's just some boy."

"Just some boy who you're blushing about," Yaya stated in such a disembodied way that Tsubomi turned to face her again- the brunette was wearing that same look, the one that almost made the pinkette cry for no reason at all.

Tsubomi shook her head and stood to change in the bathroom- she could hardly handle Yaya looking at her with her clothes _on_. "I think you know how easy it is to make me blush," she muttered, not wanted to admit the truth, and for some reason she just wanted to make Yaya herself again.

"That's what Hikari said."

Tsubomi frowned. "Well, yeah, I guess, if she blushes easily," she said slowly, ignoring the pang in her chest at the mention of the angel's name. "I never really-"

"No, about Amane," Yaya cut her off, shoes scuffing the floor. "Not 'some boy'…no matter how manly she is…," she muttered under her breath, unable to resist a dig at the horse-lover, "but she was always like 'she's just some girl' or 'it's just a crush'."

The pinkette frowned at the older girl's form- she had walked around to the other side of the bed, so all she could see was Yaya's back. The brunette's shoulders were slumped, almost as if her pride had been crushed just admitting what she had, and her fingers were gripping the fabric of the sheets tightly.

The younger girl bit her lower lip, running through her options in her head, and finally sat down on the bed, crawling her way over to where the hunched brunette was seated. "Well first of all," the pinkette stated in a know-it-all tone, "I still think that Amane-sama is 'just some girl' and only a crush to Hikari-senpai. There's nothing special about her other than her talent in horse-back riding." She paused, gauging Yaya for a response before continuing. "Personally, I don't understand why she chose her over you- I mean, you're beautiful, and your voice is just…_amazing_, and don't ever tell anyone I said any of this but…you were so good to her, Yaya-senpai. You treated her like a princess and showed her your love in a way that Amane-sama never could. It's not your fault she was too blind to see it." Ignoring the blush that she knew was painted on her cheeks, Tsubomi took a deep breath and shifted so that she was next to Yaya, leaning her head on her shoulder. She couldn't help but think that pulling away from Yaya physically was causing some of the problem. Now that they were here, she was the only person the brunette could really show affection for, and she _knew _that Yaya showed her emotions through action. Sure enough, a warm, strong arm found its way around her waist momentarily, and she felt Yaya's head rest against the top of hers. "And Yaya-senpai…I'm not Hikari," Tsubomi finally added to seal the deal. "It's not going to hurt you if…if anything happens. You don't have to be worried about that."

For a moment she could have sworn Yaya's hold on her faltered, but then it was back and as strong as ever. "Seems like you like me a little more than you let on, pinker," the brunette finally said in a low, teasing lilt. She was smiling, but it wasn't her trademark smirk, and it made Tsubomi want to swoon. The pinkette huffed and squirmed halfheartedly, but the arm around her waist remained firm. "Thank you," Yaya continued in a softer tone. "You're always dealing with me when I get all emotional and stuff, so…thanks." She nudged the pinkette playfully and squeezed her closer. "And I wouldn't be so sure about that last bit."

Tsubomi frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it might not hurt me," Yaya began, "but if anyone hurts you, I might have to go all psycho yuri-girl on them." She smirked into Tsubomi's hair as the pinkette released a long-suffering sigh.

"I think Yaya-senpai watches too much tv," she commented dryly, reluctantly pulling out of the embrace and clutching the loose, fashionable sweater and flare jeans to her chest. "I have to go change." She headed towards the bathroom biting her lower lip, ignoring Yaya's cry of: "We're all girls here, Tsubomi-chaaan! I promise I won't check out your luscious cuuurves!"

**PGBR**

The brunette was in a decidedly worse mood by the time dinner rolled around and the guests arrived- she had come downstairs with Tsubomi only to have the pinkette shoot into the arms of some (ugly) boy with dark hair, amber eyes and a crooked smile. He actually looked a lot like her (except horrendously, unforgivably ugly), she decided, and took it down as another point against him, thinking that Tsubomi could just as easily be clinging to _her_. And she was way more attractive, too.

She folded her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed slightly as Tsubomi introduced the boy in a tone she had never heard the pinkette use- excited, higher-pitched than usual, and her words rushed, almost as if she couldn't say enough about him. They'd known each other since elementary school, he'd defended her from bullies, they used to hang out all the time… God, she defended Tsubomi all the time. Maybe not when the pinkette was watching, but still, it counted. And they hung out plenty. And who even _hung out _anymore? "Um…Yaya-senpai?"

Yaya blinked, her eyes focusing on the nervous-looking pinkette in front of her. "Hmm?" she asked.

Tsubomi groaned. "Were you listening to a word I was saying?"

"Oh, yeah," Yaya replied in a bored tone. "You've been bffs forever, he's just the sweetest boy in the _world_ and we all just _love _him," she sneered. She didn't like the looks of this kid. He seemed like the sleazy, heartbreaker type, and Tsubomi deserved better than that. Plus he was ugly. Yeah. Really ugly. Like really, super, mirror-breaking ugly.

The boy frowned and Tsubomi's eyes widened momentarily before her hand lashed out, attaching to Yaya's wrist with a force that made the brunette grunt in pain. "Sorry, Daisuke-kun, we'll be back in a minute," Tsubomi said in an impossibly cheerful voice through gritted teeth before dragging the brunette into the deserted kitchen, nails digging into her wrist.

**Guys- I have no sense of Japanese etiquette, and frankly, the whole concept scares me. I basically based the parent-scene off of how it would go in an American fashion, only with Japanese names xD Don't sue me- the whole Japanese politeness thing is tiring. I'd die if I had to follow that.**


	4. Three: The Right Thing

**RomanticVulcanolight: Don't worry, it'll work out x3 It's not bad that you don't like him- I'm not sure if he's going to grow much of a personality...he might end up being a shoulder for Tsubomi to cry on =/**

**ShadowApparation: Thanks and your question will be answered in this chapter, I hope =) **

**Tmj1395: Thanks =) I thought so too, but it seems like some people just kind of LOOK for flaws in my writing sometimes...and most of the time it's funny cuz it's hypocritical xD But anyway, I just didn't want to deal with any of that, so better safe than sorry =)**

**SinnX: Thanks so much =) I'm glad you like my work so much! Sorry about that- I haven't even gotten to the Tamao part so hopefully I'll have it figured out =/ I never really saw anything with Kaname and Momomi in the ANIME, but I might've just skipped around too much =/ I'm just a crack-pairing whore, I guess xD**

**Huggler: YAY x3 I 3 jealous Yaya, she's so adorable =3 Poor Tsubomi- but I kind of think that after loving someone for so long, knowing that that person loved someone else (plus Yaya's emotionally constipated and never shows anyone how she REALLY feels) would take a toll on me =/ And you're right about Daisuke ;) I actually thought he'd be kind of a cutie, like a boy Yaya =)**

**Kaze Rei: Thanks =) I do love writing Chikaru and Shion for that, because their personalities are just so contradictory but also complimentary x3 and yeah, it really does suck xP**

**Obsidian and Cobalt: Thanks =)**

**Just a warning- this chapter (the last scene at least) doesn't flow like I want it too, so I'm sorry if it seems awful. It's a bridge into the middle of the fic, though, so hopefully the next chapter will compensate =)**

**The Girl is Mine**

**Chapter Three: And Why is it that Doing the Right Thing Always Hurts so Much?**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

"Tsu-bo-mi-chaaaaan," Yaya whined as she practically ran to keep up with the fuming girl. "That huuurts!"

Tsubomi whirled around, trapping Yaya in the nook between two cabinets, one hand resting on either side. "What was _that_?" she hissed, gesturing towards the living room as if she couldn't even find the words to describe what had just happened. "You just…you…what _happened_?"

Yaya pursed her lips and folded her arms over her chest. "He seemed like a jerk," she stated bluntly, oblivious to the fire in Tsubomi's eyes. "I told you, if anyone-"

"You don't even _know _him!" Tsubomi cried, on the verge of hysterics. The one chance she had to get over Yaya, and the brunette wasn't going to _let her_. "You weren't listening to anything he _said_! If I didn't know better I'd say you were acting like some kind of jealous _girlfriend_!" She whisper-yelled the last statement, glancing nervously over into the living room, where her parents were conversing obliviously.

"I'm not jealous," Yaya muttered, glaring when Tsubomi raised her arms and dropped them in an exasperated gesture.

"That's all you have to say?" Tsubomi asked, pressing her hands back against the counter ledges, unwittingly positioning herself only inches from the sullen girl. "You're not jealous?" She willed herself to ignore the fact that Yaya didn't bother to deny anything else she'd accused her of.

"I'm not," Yaya replied, taking Tsubomi's statement the wrong way. "I'm way hotter than him, and he's just as boring as that stupid Ohtori." Her expression soured. "God, am I gonna spend my life losing to people like her? She's got all the personality of a fucking dust-mop, how the hell is this even _happening _again?" She said this more to herself than to the enraged-gone-shocked pinkette in front of her.

"What…what are you saying, Yaya-baka?" Tsubomi snapped, but her stutter ruined the effect. "This isn't the same thing- you talk bad about Amane-sama, whatever. You have a right to hate her…I guess. But that back there? That was unacceptable! You can't just-" She broke off- Yaya had just lowered her head so that their noses were almost brushing, taking advantage of Tsubomi's hands trapping her.

"Just what?" she asked, her voice barely more than warm air brushing over the pinkette's lips. She unfolded her arms, running them gently down Tsubomi's arms, causing the tiny hairs to stand on end until they stopped at her wrists and curled around them, successfully reversing their roles. "I can't just what?" she repeated, ducking her head so that her nose was brushing the shiver Tsubomi's cheek. "Protect what's mine?"

Tsubomi's breath was coming in short bursts now, and she stayed that way, immobilized, until Yaya was only a moment from her lips. All of a sudden the weight of the situation crashed all around her, and she jerked away, shoving Yaya back into the cabinet with all her strength. The brunette hit the stone countertop and stayed there, her bangs shielding her eyes as she stared at the floor. "Don't play this game with me," Tsubomi said in a shaky voice. "Don't, Yaya-senpai. You don't want this, you want Hikari. You think you want me because you feel like you're losing her all over again, like Daisuke-kun is just another version of 'Amane-senpai'. But he's not, Yaya-senpai. He's not Amane-sama and I'm not Hikari-senpai. You just…you need to realize that it's not the same. And I'm not yours." The last sentence came out choked. "You don't love me and I…and I don't love you, and there's no need to blur the lines and ruin this friendship as well." She shook her head and hurried out of the kitchen, fighting tears and leaving Yaya standing there, her white knuckles the only sign of her emotions as she gripped the countertops with all she had.

**PGBR**

Chikaru sat on her bed with her legs tucked beneath her, sketching little nothings on a large sketch pad, a pair of rectangular reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose when a knock came at her door. Brushing her bangs out of her face, she called, "It's open!"

She turned back to her drawing only to be drawn away by a cleared throat and a nervous-looking Shion Toumori standing in her doorway. "Shion-chan…" she murmured out of reflex, her brow furrowed. "Is something the matter?"

Shion scuffed the ground with her shoe. "Does something have to be the matter?" she muttered, seemingly put out.

Chikaru smiled at her patiently and detangled her legs, standing so that she was a few inches from Shion, her fingers running over the Spican's bow tie. Shion blushed darkly at the contact. "You never come to see me anymore," she said lightly. "I can only assume something has happened."

"Whatever," Shion muttered, cheeks flushing in a way that told Chikaru that something had, indeed, happened. "We're- I'm trying to organize a tour for prospective students, one of each school."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Shion-chan," Chikaru said, smiling as Shion flushed darker. "I presume you wanted me to organize the tour of Le Rim?"

Shion nodded, frowned, then shook her head. "Well, I do want that, but I was hoping you could speak with Rokujou-san," she said. "It's obvious that we don't get anything done without you around, and I doubt she'd participate if she knew it was my idea."

"Ah, I see," Chikaru hummed, dropping her hand away from Shion's tie and letting it run down the fabric of her light jacket. "I think I could talk to Miyuki-san."

Shion frowned. "Since when did you call her that, anyway?" she asked, her tone morphing into something that Chikaru hadn't heard in a long time. She sounded more casual, almost friendly.

Chikaru shrugged, removing her hand entirely. "How long have we belonged to the same council?" she asked with a small smile. "I think it's about time that we start being a little more familiar."

"You're probably the only one who could get away with talking to Rokujou-san like that," Shion noted, still not quite meeting Chikaru's gaze. "But then again, you always have been an exception, haven't you?" Now the determined violet gaze found questioning amber eyes.

Chikaru's lips morphed into the ghost of a smile. "Not to you, Shion-chan," she said softly, raising her hand to squeeze the Spican's slender shoulder. It slipped down to her tie once again and stayed there as Chikaru stared at it, her eyes burning with the longing she'd held back for she didn't know how long. "There were never any exceptions for you, kaichou."

Shion's jaw tensed. "Just because others choose to be unprofessional doesn't mean I should follow in their footsteps," she stated hotly. Then her expression softened. "It was for the best."

"Was it, kaichou?" Chikaru asked in the same, sadly-soft voice. "Being involved in politics doesn't mean that one cannot stay friends with a competitor…if you can count Le Rim as such."

_Friends…because that's all you ever were._

Shion turned to the left, her eyes unfocused. "It wouldn't have been professional," she repeated, though her tone wasn't as strong- not as convicted.

"Was that really the only reason, Shion-chan?" Chikaru asked quietly. "That doesn't seem very…well thought out of you."

Shion's jaw clenched. "Whether it was the only reason or not," she began, "it's over now, so let's leave it in the past, where it belongs." Her tone was pointed, but wary.

"Just because something existed in the past doesn't mean it should stay there," Chikaru replied, her fingers tracing the contours of Shion's collarbone beneath her uniform. "Surely you don't believe so?"

Chikaru wasn't called the Shadow Empress of Le Rim for nothing- she knew everything about everyone, and even the people she couldn't read, she read them through that. She knew Shion had harbored feelings for her in the past, knew she had used the council as an excuse to run away. But in that time those deep violet eyes had clouded over, transformed to the point that Chikaru couldn't see what was behind them anymore. She had fallen hard for the noble Spican warrior sometime long before they parted, and Chikaru wasn't one to give up so easily. But she needed the hints, she needed proof, something to tell her that she wasn't completely off base. And the hitch of the Spican's breath as her hand slipped beneath the fabric of the uniform gave her as much and more.

"Chikaru," Shion said, her tone not angry or scared, but calm, almost chiding as she took Chikaru's wrist and moved her hand back to her side. "What happened or didn't happen is no longer up for discussion. Nobody can move forward if they keep their eyes behind them, on the past."

An unusual feeling of petulance bubbled inside the raven-haired girl at Shion's tone, but she bit it back. "And how, Shion-chan, do you propose to move forward if you have no past behind you?" she asked, her light, reddish-brown eyes hardening just slightly. "Don't be so impractical, kaichou," she murmured, brushing some of Shion's bangs behind her ear and holding her hand there.

"Don't, Chikaru," Shion murmured, her voice lowering reflexively as she stepped back out of the doorway. "I'll be waiting for word on Rokujou-san's decision."

And then she was gone.

Chikaru sighed and trailed back to her bed, falling down on it face first. Of all the girls she had to fall for, it had to be the one who was too noble to love her back.

**PGBR**

There was a whole myriad of expressions in the Okuwaka sitting room- Mari was sitting there chatting with her gossipy friend, a delighted smile on her face every time she glanced over at her daughter. Tsubomi's father sat reading the paper as if there was nothing of interest happening at all, and Daisuke looked pleased enough just to be sitting there with his arm around Tsubomi. Said pinkette was wearing an expression of relief mixed with hesitance, her gaze shifting between Daisuke and one very sullen-looking brunette to her right. Yaya had her arms folded over her chest, glancing over at Tsubomi and her 'friend' every so often only to shoot another poisonous glare at the dark-haired boy. She had the right, she thought- she was the one who held Tsubomi like that, and what gave this new boy the right to take that away from her?

Tsubomi felt like she was the main character in a bad teen sitcom. Daisuke had made it fairly obvious that he was interested in her, and though she couldn't read Yaya's motives, the older girl appeared to want to rip his head off for being so. "Right, well," she began, breaking the silent staring contest between the two. "I'm going to go sit at the table. Dinner should be ready soon enough." She darted out from under Daisuke's arm and quickly shuffled into the dining room.

She felt as if she were the bone that two very big, vicious dogs were fighting over as the two followed her, Yaya slipping to her left side and shooting Daisuke a glare as he settled to her right. "Yaya-_senpai_," she hissed under her breath, grabbing the first thing her hand could find, which happened to be the older girl's knee. "Be nice!"

Yaya scoffed. "I will when he is," she muttered.

"He hasn't _done _anything to you!" Tsubomi shot back.

Huffing, Yaya prodded at her meal. "You would think that," she mumbled. When Tsubomi opened her mouth to question the older girl, Yaya turned to Mari with a smile that could charm even Shion Toumori. "Dinner is absolutely delicious, Mari-sama," she said, practically purring.

Tsubomi's eyes widened and her jaw tightened as her mother blushed and giggled. _Is this baka seriously trying to get back at me by charming my _mom_? _

"Thank you, Yaya-san," Mari giggled, her cheeks flushed. Yaya grinned. So that was where Tsubomi got it. "You and Tsubomi just seem so malnourished and thin...I wanted to give you a good home-cooked meal."

"Well, I'd have to say you succeeded," Yaya stated with a grin. Inside the cogs in her mind were turning rapidly- if Tsubomi wasn't going to keep her distance from that..._boy_...then Yaya would charm her mother. At least then she might be more accommodating to Yaya dating Tsubomi than Daisuke. In Yaya's mind, the plan was flawless.

Tsubomi scoffed in disbelief. "I can't believe you," she muttered under her breath.

Sending one last smile to Mari, Yaya turned back to Tsubomi with an unusual expression. If the pinkette hadn't known her better, she would have said that Yaya was trying to smile away hurt. "You're one to talk," she muttered back. "Who's falling all over some ugly guy just because he smiled a little?"

Tsubomi turned to Daisuke and back to Yaya. "Ugly?" she asked, her tone tinged with amusement. "I mean I know we've been at Spica for a long time and it's only girls there, but your view of attractiveness can't have been affected _that _badly..."

Yaya narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?" she practically hissed before turning away for a moment to eat a bit of her food so that they didn't call too much attention to themselves.

Tsubomi let out a small laugh. "Daisuke-kun is very...attractive," she whispered in Yaya's ear, as if it were some kind of secret.

A low growl rumbled from Yaya's chest and her knuckles turned white around her utensils. "He's ugly," she muttered, practically tearing a new bite of chicken apart with her knife and fork. "I think you're the one who's delusional."

Tsubomi sighed and rolled her eyes, standing up. "Mom, do you mind if we go upstairs?" she asked. "It's just that Yaya-chan is tired and I don't want to leave her alone."

Mari gave an understanding smile and nodded, and Tsubomi grabbed Yaya's wrist and pulled her out of the room for the second time that evening.

**PGBR**

"Yaya-senpai, is there something you want to tell me?" Tsubomi asked, arms folded over her chest as she stood in front of the brunette, who was sulking on her bed.

"Just that you need to get your vision checked," the older girl quipped under her breath.

Tsubomi frowned and plopped down on the bed beside Yaya, who promptly rolled onto her back, her limbs sprawled over the edge of the bed. The pinkette flushed when the brunette's tight shirt rode up, giving her a choice view of a toned stomach. "Geez, could you possibly have any less tact?" she muttered, leaning over to yank the older girl's shirt down. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she caught a flicker of a smirk play across Yaya's lips, but it was too late. The brunette grabbed Tsubomi's wrist and yanked her down, causing the pinkette to land directly on top of her. "Let go, Yaya-baka!" Tsubomi shrieked, faced with Yaya's generous cleavage. She felt the blood rushing to her head.

"Not until we finish what we started earlier," the brunette murmured, her voice low and husky, causing Tsubomi to flush even darker.

Tsubomi huffed. "Don't you ever learn?" she asked. "Maybe you should stay within a five foot radius of all your friends." She regretted the words the second they left her mouth- Yaya's grip loosened and she wore an expression of absolute heartbreak. The pinkette sighed. "Or at least...the friends you don't have feelings for. It'd save a lot of confusion." She moved to get up, only to have the newly re energized Yaya pull her back down.

"You should be careful what you say, Tsu-bo-mi-chaaan," she purred. "I never said I didn't have feelings for you."

Scoffing, Tsubomi ignored the pain in her chest that Yaya always seemed to inflict without so much as trying. "Shut up, Yaya-baka," she muttered. "I'm not mad- you don't have to go and cover for yourself."

She felt Yaya chuckle beneath her, felt the vibrations of her voice from her position on the brunette's chest. And then she was falling, hitting a warm mattress and staring up at a pair of flashing, mischievous eyes. And then...then there was paradise, and the heavy pressure on her lips that she felt like she'd waited a lifetime to feel.

Somewhere along the way Tsubomi abandoned her body to the brunette, allowing Yaya to run her hands down her sides and tuning out the sensations as best as she could. It was strange, almost dreamlike.

_And it might as well be that._

"You're too beautiful for such an ugly boy," Yaya muttered into the pale column of her neck, sending shivers down Tsubomi's spine.

_She's only diverting her feelings for Hikari onto you._

And then, before she could stop herself, she felt herself speak as if on autopilot, "I keep telling you he's not ugly." Her voice came out in a breathy whisper and she squeezed her eyes shut. "He kind of reminds me of you,actually."

Ecstasy as Yaya growled into her neck and bit down with a gentle pressure, causing Tsubomi to melt underneath her. "He's nothing like me," the brunette muttered, shifting her lips to Tsubomi's delicate jawline. "He doesn't have you." It wasn't a question, but Tsubomi heard the uncertainty in her voice, heard the need- and her heart broke all over again. She covered it by lifting her arms and running her fingers through Yaya's dark hair.

"And you do?"

A smirk. The pinkette felt it more than she saw it.

"I will."

Tsubomi smiled dryly, her eyes sparkling with the tears she felt hovering just behind them. "No, you won't," she choked out, her voice a ghost of its usual volume. "Get off, Yaya-baka," she muttered, shoving the girl so weakly that she knew Yaya had barely felt it, but the brunette backed off anyway, sitting up and looking down at her in confusion. "All the way off."

Slowly Yaya shifted so that she was no longer straddling the pinkette. "Tsubomi-chan, I-"

"It's nothing," Tsubomi said in the same quiet voice, rolling out of the bed. "You need to find someone else to help you get over your Hikari-complex, Yaya-senpai. We can't do this- especially not here."

"Why do you keep doing that?" She heard Yaya speak behind her but didn't bother to turn around, because she knew what she'd find. The frown, the poorly concealed confusion... "You keep pushing me away, and every time you accuse me of trying to escape my feelings for Hikari through you."

"And you aren't?"

"No, I'm not," Yaya said, her voice stronger this time as she stood up and came to stand behind the pinkette, who was staring down at something on her desk. "Is that so hard to believe?"

Tsubomi scoffed. "Did you seriously just ask me that?" she asked, turning to give Yaya an irritated look. The brunette just shrugged.

"Kinda..."

The pinkette sighed. "Look, Yaya-senpai," she began, dropping her eyes to the floor. The brunette stepped forward, noticing her discomfort, and pulled Tsubomi to her gently, holding her by the waist. Tsubomi sighed quietly and unwittingly played with Yaya's hair. "You're kind of oblivious, so I'm just going to have to say it, I guess. I like you, okay? Really, really like you, and I'm trying to get over it-"

"But-"

"_AND _you're not helping by acting like this around Daisuke-kun," she continued over the stricken brunette. Her heart was thudding painfully in her chest, but she knew this was the best way- there was no way she could get over her feelings this way, and there was no way Yaya was going to back off without knowing a good reason. "So please, just...stop," Tsubomi finished lamely, allowing her hand to slip from Yaya's silky hair and gently onto her chest. "Okay?"

She felt the brunette take a deep breath underneath her hand. "You like me, so you're asking me to back off?" Yaya finally asked, staring down at the upset pinkette. "I don't think that's really fair..."

"Try being in- try liking someone who's in love with some kind of angel," Tsubomi muttered, not really concerned with concealing her feelings anymore.

Yaya frowned and sat back down on the bed, pulling Tsubomi with her. "I mean it's not fair that I have to back off _knowing _you have feelings for me," she said lowly, pressing her lips to Tsubomi's cheek. "I didn't want him around you to begin with- what makes you think I'm going anywhere _now_?" She pouted.

Tsubomi scoffed and rolled her eyes, completely annoyed with how Yaya was reacting to her feelings. "Figure it out," she muttered, shoving the brunette away and grabbing her pajamas. "I'm going to sleep in the guest room."

**Please don't hate me- I know it was bad, especially that last scene . But it's one of those 'bridge' points, meaning the next chapter will compensate for it (hopefully).**


	5. Four: Lose You Again

**Tmj1395: I'm glad you liked the ending =) I was afraid it was too sudden, but it IS Yaya, and I wanted to make it seem realistic =)**

**keitaro5286: Thanks =3**

**Kaze Rei: Poor Yaya is just emotionally repressed when it comes to talking things out- much like Shion, who's pretty much emotionally constipated (for now) xD And you know it- Chikaru's a beast xD**

**Huggler: Don't worry about Chikaru- she's Chikaru, she can do anything =D She'll get that stubborn Shion to open her eyes =) Aww, don't dislike Yaya =( I know she's being kind of an insensitive jerk right now, but it's **_**Yaya**_**, and we have to remember that she shows her emotions through her actions. She does show that she cares about Tsubomi outside of when she's feeling jealous- it's just not as easy to see because usually she shows it through teasing. When Daisuke 'moves in on her territory', it prompts her to show them in a more direct way, that's all. Those fans who hated Yaya after the Hikari scene were the ones who didn't understand that about her.**

**ShadowApparation**

**SinnX: That seems to be the popular opinion xD **

**RomanticVulcanolight: Thanks =) And I missed them too =/ Useful Oxymoron is a much better writer than me, but I do agree that their fics of Chikaru and Shion are the best =) **

**XxBloodwolfxX: Thanks! =)**

**Komuro: Thanks =)**

**Sorry it's taken me forever to upload- college sucks, still no laptop.**

**The Girl is Mine**

**Chapter Four: Lose You Again**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

The next morning, Tsubomi awoke with a foreboding feeling in her stomach; it didn't take her long to find out why, either.

The little pinkette was trapped by a strong arm that had been thrust haphazardly over her waist, and she was engulfed by a sweet, almost familiar scent that she couldn't quite place. Her first reflex was to curl into the source of the heat.

Approximately five seconds later she shrieked, jumping off the bed so quickly that she hit her head on the bedpost as Yaya slowly woke. "What's up, Tsu-bo-mi-chaaan?" Yaya asked with a yawn, stretching her limbs luxuriously like a panther.

"Wh-wh-what are you _doing _in here?" the pinkette shrieked, folding her arms tightly over her chest- she was wearing a partially see-through pink nightgown. "I mean, _how_..."

Yaya made a face and rolled off the bed as if it were physically paining her to be awake so early in the morning. She staggered over to Tsubomi in a way that the pinkette might have thought cute, had she not been so shocked at the fact that the brunette was in the room _at all_. "I couldn't just let you stay all mad at me like that," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes in a way that Tsubomi couldn't help but think adorable, "an' I knew if...if I let you sleep..." Yaya yawned widely, stumbling backwards a few paces, "then you'd 'void me all day or...or somethin'." She finished off her speech with a sleepy smile that made Tsubomi's heart leap into her throat.

"Geez," the pinkette muttered, turning to hide her red face. "I'm not mad at you, okay? It's like impossible to stay mad at you for a long time. Now go back to sleep before you hurt yourself."

Before she could do anything, Yaya had wrapped her arms around her waist and fallen back onto the bed, Tsubomi on top of her. The brunette tightened her arms around the pinkette's waist and buried her face in her hair, mumbling incoherently. "Tsubomi-chan cares about me," she quietly announced in a victorious, sleep-muddled voice before rolling onto her side and settling back into bed at the awkward angle they were in, clutching Tsubomi like a teddy bear.

"Get off me, Yaya-baka," Tsubomi muttered, trying to squirm out of Yaya's arms, but the brunette only tightened her grip. "I have to get dressed!" she cried, frustrated as she struggled harder. "Daisuke-kun and his mom are coming over to spend the day downtown with us! They're going to be here any minute...oh god, I have to get ready!"

One amber eye popped open and narrowed at the pinkette before Yaya very purposefully growled and held her closer. Tsubomi sighed.

"Please, Yaya-senpai?" she asked in her sweetest voice- it always got her what she wanted from her father, and she really had nothing to lose. She heard the girl grumble something about 'stupid boys' and 'ugly, boring dust mops', but Yaya finally loosened her grip enough to let Tsubomi bound down the hallway towards her room. With a sleepy smirk, Yaya followed only to have the door slammed in her face.

She stood there, half-awake, pouting at the door for a good five minutes until Tsubomi bounded back out, fully dressed and groomed, directly into her arms. Yaya smirked and tightened her arms around her waist only to find herself being herded into the room by a surprisingly strong pinkette. "Come on, Yaya-senpai, you definitely can't go out like this," she said, referring to Yaya's crimson slip (which, she totally hadn't noticed, had slipped from Yaya's shoulder in the most erotic way...she shook her head violently).

The door bell rang while Tsubomi was pacing the room, trying to ignore Yaya, who was attempting to flaunt her curves in the pinkette's face. Tsubomi's eyes widened and she instantly headed for the door. "Change, alright? And come down when you're done. I have to go meet Daisuke-kun."

Yaya made a face. "Boys have cooties," she mumbled, upset that the stupid, ugly boy was getting so much attention from Tsubomi.

The pinkette hesitated with her hand on the doorknob, and felt herself break into a reluctant smile at the petulant expression the brunette was wearing. She sighed and let go of the doorknob, walking over to the agonizingly half-dressed Yaya and tentatively wrapping her arms around her bare shoulders. _This isn't bad, this is necessary. This is for her happiness, it doesn't make you a hentai, no matter how lovely her abs are... _

Yaya stood, shocked for all of two seconds before she returned the embrace, burying her head in the crook of the pinkette's neck.

"You don't have to be like this, Yaya-senpai," Tsubomi said, her voice slightly shaky. Her neck was her erogenous zone, and Yaya's warm breath against it really wasn't doing anything to calm her Raging Teen Hormones ™. "He's just a..." she broke off, because she didn't want to lie to Yaya, and there was nothing wrong with trying to get over her feelings for the brunette. "He's just Daisuke," she finally settled on, hoping Yaya wouldn't choose today to be more perceptive.

"Okay," the brunette muttered, causing Tsubomi's body to swell in relief. "But he better not try anything..."

Tsubomi groaned and pulled out of the embrace, shoving Yaya towards her suitcase. "Just put on a shirt or something and come down when you're done," she said. "I can't imagine what would happen to him if he saw you in jeans and a bra."

A wide, shit-eating grin began to form on Yaya's face. If Daisuke liked _her_, then...

"DON'T even think about it," Tsubomi snapped from the door as she left down the hallway, leaving Yaya to roll her eyes and reluctantly put her shirt on.

**PGBR**

Chikaru pursed her lips subtly, her eyes flickering with hidden amusement as she took in the expression on Shion's face. "Is there a problem, Shion-chan?" she asked, her chin resting on the backs of her fingers.

Shion growled lowly, symbolizing the onset of an explosion. "Where _is _she?" she ground out. "I swear, having us meet _here _of all places while she takes her sweet time getting the prospective students..." She trailed off, folding her arms tightly over her chest.

Chikaru giggled and reached out, running her hand down Shion's arm to calm the blonde. "Give it time, Shion-chan," she said. "You know how meticulous Miyuki-san can be."

Grumbling under her breath, Shion straightened on the bench they were sharing as if making herself more presentable. The faint blush on her cheeks caused Chikaru to lean over and impulsively kiss her cheek. Realization hit her half a second after she'd made her move, and it was telling her to back off, but she moved away slowly, keeping her cool. Once she'd pulled away, she tilted her head in slight amusement at the bright red, stuttering blonde beside her.

Inside she sighed in relief- Shion was too flustered to pick up on anything deeper. "Wh-what was _that_?" Shion asked, turning to Chikaru wide-eyed.

Chikaru shrugged with a serene smile. "Can't I kiss my friends on the cheek?" she asked, meeting Shion's shocked stare with a gentle gaze of her own.

She watched as the Spican's brow furrowed slightly and she opened and closed her mouth several times, as if thinking of what to say. "I- you..." The blonde rubbed the back of her neck, her face still red, avoiding Chikaru's eyes. "You do that to all your friends?" she asked in a gruff voice.

Giggling, Chikaru leaned into Shion's personal space, brushing her blonde hair back away from her face. "Of course not, Shion-chan," she cooed into the Spican's ear. "Why do you ask?"

Shion shrugged. "I don't know, just...be careful who you do that to," she mumbled. "You can't always trust people, you know?"

Chikaru giggled again. "But surely I can trust you, Shion-chan?" she asked in a playful lilt. "You're always so honorable..."

Shion sat there for a moment, motionless, before she suddenly turned to Chikaru. "Chikaru..." she began, and the Le Rim president's brow furrowed at the informal use of her name in such a defeated tone. "I know what you're doing, and you have to stop, okay? It's not going to work."

Blinking, slightly jaded by the fact that the Spican had picked up on her game, Chikaru pulled away from Shion. "I don't see why it couldn't," she finally said in a quiet voice. "The schools are very-"

Shion let out a frustrated growl. "The schools aren't _everything_, Chikaru!" she snapped, her face instantly softening when she saw the smaller girl flinch. "Just...there's a life after this, and in that life..."

"There's no room for me?" Chikaru asked in a soft tone, attempting to hold onto her smile through the tears she felt welling up in her eyes. Shion opened her mouth and reached out, but the raven-haired girl moved her hands away from the blonde's. "No room for your childhood friend, Shion-chan?"

"NO!" Shion cried, desperate for Chikaru not to cry. She ran her hands through her thick blonde hair and groaned in frustration. "That's not what I meant! I meant there's no room for...for _this_," she said, gesturing to Chikaru as a whole. The Le Rim president tilted her head in confusion. Shion groaned in frustration. "For _us_, Chikaru, for what you obviously want."

"Oh," Chikaru replied quietly.

They sat there in silence until Miyuki appeared with a group of young girls, and Shion shot to her feet, ready to show Miator up once again. Sighing, Chikaru ambled after her, fixing the easy smile back onto her face.

Funny, it took more muscles to frown than to smile, but then how was it possible that it hurt so much to fake a smile?

**PGBR**

Tsubomi really, really hoped her mother hadn't been right when she'd told her, years ago, that if she frowned to much, her face would stick that way. It wasn't as if she didn't frown enough in general, but at this particular moment in time, she was glaring so determinedly that if Yaya hadn't been such a thick head (in Tsubomi's humble opinion), she would have set on fire by now.

The older girl had sauntered down the stairs several minutes after Tsubomi herself had come down and the older women had retreated into the kitchen. The pinkette had been talking to Daisuke, laughing at some joke the boy had told. Not even laughing- _giggling_.

It had taken Yaya surprisingly little time to realize that her possessive displays weren't turning the boy off of Tsubomi (really, she thought, boys were just so _dense_), and as she descended the stairs that day in a tight red shirt and fraying jean shorts, she smirked as Daisuke's eyes found her and stuck there. She walked into the living room and plopped herself down on the boy's other side, sending Tsubomi a shit-eating grin as she placed one hand on Daisuke's arm, biting back the shudder that rose in her chest.

While many of the girls at Astraea Hill may have been bisexual or even straight, Yaya was one-hundred percent gay, despite her feminine appearance. Really, it became quite obvious when one got used to her true personality. Despite that fact, Tsubomi found herself doubting this, and glaring at the spectacle before her. She wasn't sure exactly _why _she was glaring; either because of Yaya's hand on Daisuke's arm or because Daisuke got to touch _her _Yaya. She'd come here to get over the older girl, not enter yet _another _love triangle.

Standing up quite suddenly, she grabbed the older girl by the most convenient hold she could find, and dragged the yelping brunette to the next room by the ear. Once the door had been safely shut behind them, Tsubomi whirled around, facing Yaya with an angry glare. The brunette, for her part, was looking around, surveying her surroundings mildly. "You know, brat, if you wanted to get me naked, we could've just-"

"What are you _doing_, baka?" Tsubomi snapped, ignoring the furious blush spreading across her cheeks. She hadn't _meant _to drag Yaya into the bathroom- it was just the closest room besides the kitchen, which had been taken over by her and Daisuke's respective mothers. "You're _gay!"_

Yaya leaned back against the wall, arms folded over her chest, face a picture of nonchalance, though her eyes were flashing. "I am not," she retorted calmly, managing to hold a straight face before all of five seconds before bursting into laughter. "I'm a _lesbian_, Tsubomi-chan, it's correct terminology. But- but you should've seen your _face_! You looked like I kicked your kitten to death!"

Tsubomi growled in frustration and attempted to shove out of the bathroom, only to find herself held back by a strong arm. "Let go," she muttered. When Yaya continued to cling, she sighed and turned around, her breath catching in her throat when she realized just how close the older girl was. Fighting back the urge to throw her arms around Yaya's neck and just cling to her and cry away the fear she'd felt only seconds before, she puffed herself up as much as she could. "Don't string him along like that," she finally said, "it's one thing when you do it to girls, because they have a _chance_, but..that's just cruel, Yaya-sempai."

The brunette huffed again, shifting against the wall. "Well you don't want me to try and keep him away from you," she muttered, obviously put out, her eyes flickering with hurt, and, more than likely, wounded pride. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"How about stay out of the way?" Tsubomi asked, her mixed emotions blinding her. "How about backing it off and letting it happen? It's not that hard, Yaya-sempai, trust me, I _know_," she spat bitterly, unwanted memories of Hikari swimming up to the forefront of her mind. "It just hurts- a little or a lot depending. If you'd let go of your stupid pride for five seconds and go find some pretty girl, you probably wouldn't even notice!"

Yaya recoiled as if she'd been slapped, and the pure emotion in her eyes was enough to make Tsubomi cry even more. "I would too," she muttered petulantly. "Look, Tsubomi-chan, I _know_ you like me. What's the point of pushing me away?"

"Because you're stopping me from getting over you!" Tsubomi suddenly snapped, tired of Yaya's stupid, simple view of the world. "Why can't you just act your age and accept that you can't have _everything _you want?"

She stormed out of the bathroom, leaving the brunette gaping after her.

**UGH. **


	6. Five: Give it Time

**I hope everyone likes this chapter, especially considering I'm totally blowing off my art and history assignments for it, not that I can actually DO my art powerpoint since the computer place ripped of my Microsoft Word =/ and I can't do history either because our wifi is busted...Anyway, I figured I wouldn't have the inspiration for long, so here it is =P**

**Tmj1395: Thanks =) Unfortunately Chikaru's going to be sad for this chapter too =( I'll read and leave a review when I get the chance, I've got a history paper to write in three hours =P**

**Shadow Apparation: Thanks =) And I try to update as often as possible, but I hate for the quality of my stories to go down =( Well, I can promise that Daisuke and Tsubomi aren't going to end up together =3 There will be a happy ending all around, don't worry =)**

**Huggler: Poor Shion just doesn't really know how to be very empathetic =/ She will eventually, don't worry =) **

**Kaze Rei: Sorry, my laptop was gone and with school and stuff... :/ And thanks =D**

**Kenneth Black: Thanks for all your reviews! =D I'm really glad you're enjoying the fic so far, and I hope you keep enjoying it =) There's going to be a bit of angst for Chikaru and Shion, and I wrote it kind of distracted, but hopefully it'll be believable and bridge into a new storyline for them =)**

**XxxxX**

**The Girl is Mine**

**Chapter Five: Just Give It Time (We Have None Left)**

**XxxxX**

Yaya scowled at the scene in front of her, just as she had been doing for the past ten minutes of the car ride.

Tsubomi's parents along with Daisuke's mother had decided to attend the midnight mass on Christmas eve at the last minute, which had resulted in three grumpy, yawning teenagers all piled into the backseat of an SUV while the adults chatted away in the front. But despite her lack of sleep, the real reason that Yaya was scowling was cramped right next to her, pressing her into the right side of the car. Daisuke, who wasn't quite as thick as he seemed, apparently, had wedged himself into the middle of the backseat before Yaya had the chance, forcing the girls to take the seats on either side of him, and a half-asleep Tsubomi was curled up underneath his arm, seeking refuge in the warmth he offered, as her mother had refused to turn on the heating system.

_Conserves gas, _she'd said. Yaya growled. It sure as hell wasn't going to conserve Daisuke's reproductive organs if he didn't watch himself.

After the incident in the bathroom several days ago, Tsubomi had taken it upon herself to avoid any kind of contact with the older girl, which had in turn given Yaya plenty of time to think about their relationship.

She'd known that she wanted Tsubomi for quite some time now, but the fact that maybe she wanted the pinkette as much as she'd wanted Hikari hadn't hit her until she realized that Tsubomi was actively trying to get over her, despite her feelings. Tsubomi had _feelings _for her, and was _trying _to make them go away. Yaya folded her arms over her chest and huffed, staring out the window. She'd promised herself she wouldn't let it happen again; promised herself that she wouldn't lose another love, but how was she supposed to hold on when Tsubomi was actively pushing her away.

"Yaya-senpai?"

Yaya started from her thoughts, turning to face Tsubomi, who was watching her with unconcealed concern in her amber eyes. "Huh?" she asked lamely, blinking several times. "What?"

Tsubomi sighed in annoyance. "Nothing," she muttered. "You were just spacing out, but I forgot that's just Yaya-senpai, isn't it?"

Yaya huffed. "Whatever," she shot back as the car came to a halt. She pushed open her door and jumped out as soon as she could, basking in the freedom from Daisuke's heavy body against hers. Then she sighed and trudged around to the other side of the car; fighting with Tsubomi was no way to get the pinkette to be hers. She leaned against the door, holding it open as the younger girl stumbled out, clearly jaded by her exhaustion. "What's the big deal about having a church service at midnight, anyway?"

She grinned crookedly at the shocked gasp that came seconds later. _Right on cue. _"Yaya-_senpai_!" Tsubomi scolded, looking completely offended. "It's _tradition_!"

Yaya laughed and thrust an arm haphazardly over Tsubomi's narrow shoulders, pulling the girl tight against her side and smiling when the pinkette leaned into the embrace. She looked back over her shoulder to smirk challengingly at Daisuke, who looked like he'd just eaten a whole lemon. "Come on, Tsubomi-chaaan, let's find somewhere to sit," she said, pulling the smaller girl after the adults.

**PGBR**

Chikaru leaned against the wall to the dining room as Miyuki directed the group of first years, a sad smile dusting her lips.

"No room for us, hmm?" she murmured to herself. She remembered back when she and Shion had been so small, so innocent, and even then... "You never did have any room for me, did you, Shion-chan?"

"It wasn't that I didn't have room for you."

Chikaru closed her eyes and sighed. "It doesn't matter whether you did or not, Shion-chan," she explained softly. "Because what would it change? Wouldn't we still be standing here even if you did?"

Shion ran a hand through her hair and looked down at the floor. "Don't be like this, Chikaru," she muttered. "This isn't like you-"

"How would you know?" Chikaru asked in a surprisingly strong voice, turning to face Shion with red eyes. "How would you know what I'm like at all anymore, Shion-chan?"

Shion took a step back and looked out at the room stubbornly and Chikaru sighed. The blonde glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and mimicked her actions. "I don't know," she said quietly, "but I know this isn't you. Please, Chikaru," she said, stepping in front of the brunette with a pleading expression written across her face, "don't make this harder than it is. I have to inherit my father's company and there's just..." she sighed. "We can't be together, Chikaru. This was...we were just...we were children, Chikaru. We have another year, and then what?"

Chikaru blinked back the tears that seemed more and more persistent these days and stepped away from the upset blonde, pasting a smile back onto her face.

Shion frowned, her arms folded over her chest as she leaned against the doorway, watching Chikaru talk to the small group of girls in front of them. Chikaru had never faked a smile before- it felt wrong, almost like everything was about to fall apart, and suddenly the future felt even colder than it had before.

Just at that moment, as if to kick her while she was down, Miyuki glanced down at Chikaru and raised her gaze to Shion, her features twisting in disgust. Shion's hands curled into fists, and she wanted to say something- anything to wipe that stupid, know-it-all expression from her face. But she knew what Miyuki was thinking- knew that Miyuki knew Chikaru well enough to know when she was happy, well enough to know that the only person who would ever make Chikaru so upset was the one person who could make her truly happy.

Taking in a deep breath through her nose, Shion shook the anger from her head and stepped forward to stand beside Chikaru. "Rokujou-san," she ground out, adding in the formality for the sake of the younger girls, "can you take care of the rest of the tour?"

Miyuki's eyes narrowed, but she nodded reluctantly as her eyes shifted to Chikaru almost imperceptibly. The Le Rim president really was the glue that held the council together. Shion spared her a thankful nod before taking Chikaru's wrist in her hand and pulling her out of the room.

**PGBR**

Leaning back in the pew, Yaya stretched her muscles, wrapping her arms behind her head and yawning widely. As she was stretching, she felt a weight drop onto her chest and looked down, onto to find a half asleep Tsubomi blinking back up at her. Smiling, Yaya dropped her arm over the pinkette's shoulders and slumped down in her seat, resting her head against Tsubomi's.

From Tsubomi's other side, Daisuke glared at the brunette, having pretty much worked out what was going on between the two girls. Catching his eyes, Yaya's smile widened into a wide smirk befitting of the Cheshire Cat, and she tightened her arm around the pinkette. Tsubomi glanced up, following Yaya's gaze, and groaned, shoving out from under Yaya's arm.

"Yaya-senpai, I told you to stop that," she growled under her breath.

Yaya huffed. "It's not like you were complaining," she muttered, folding her arms over her chest and turning her head to the side. She had a forceful personality, but she wasn't going to make the mistake of forcing herself onto someone she liked again.

Glancing at the brunette, Tsubomi sighed and looked down at her hands. She didn't know what she was doing anymore, just that she couldn't keep giving Yaya these mixed signals, because she knew first-hand that the older girl didn't know how to handle them. "I told you a couple days ago, I'm trying to get over you here," Tsubomi said in an exasperated whisper. "Is it really that hard to leave Daisuke and I alone?"

Yaya's jaw tightened and she found herself glaring at nowhere in particular, the sermon like monotonous background noise to her ears.

Tsubomi sighed and looped her arm through the brunette's, wincing at how tense her senpai had become. "Is it that hard for us to just try and be friends?" she asked quietly, glancing around her nervously. She hated breaking the rules, and talking in church was probably somewhere high on the list of no-nos.

Yaya found herself tensing even further.

_"We'll be best friends forever, Yaya-chan." _

"What if I don't want to be friends?" she muttered under her breath, unaware of a pair of wide, amber eyes staring at the side of her face.

"What are you talking about, Yaya-baka?" Tsubomi hissed under her breath, causing Yaya to blink out of her memories and turn wide, confused eyes to the pinkette. "Have you _never _had to actually hide your feelings from anyone, or do you just come out with it and expect them to like you back?" She huffed, frustrated with the older girl. There was no way she could _possibly _know how much it hurt to hide away her feelings; to fake a smile. Yaya never had; she had her doubts that Yaya even _could_. "You're so selfish," she mumbled, folding her own arms and looking down at her feet.

"I'm-" Yaya began, frowning in disbelief. "Why should I have to hide my feelings when I know you feel the same way?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Tsubomi growled in frustration; it was like dealing with a kindergartener sometimes. If the answer wasn't right in front of her face, there wasn't a problem. It would have been cute if it wasn't so hard for Tsubomi to keep pushing her away, and anyone else would have given in by this point, but...

But Tsubomi's feelings for her senpai had developed into something more, and she was terrified of the feelings she _knew _Yaya still had for Hikari. She was a selfish girl despite everything she'd done for Yaya, and she couldn't bring herself to be with the brunette if she knew she was the second choice.

And anyone but Hikari would always (always) be the second choice.

"Would it kill you to let this go?" Tsubomi finally murmured, scooting closer to Daisuke, who wrapped an arm around her waist. "Please?"

Yaya's eyes narrowed at the scene and she met Tsubomi's eyes with determination- there was no way she was giving up, not while there was even a shred of a chance that she could still win Tsubomi's heart. The sight of some..._boy_ with his arm around something she considered to be hers set her blood boiling and, in direct disobedience, she reached out and pulled the pinkette away from Daisuke. Tsubomi yelped out before realizing that they were in church, and settled for glaring at the brunette, who merely shrugged and bent down, her lips only inches from Tsubomi's ear. "I think you know me well enough to know that I don't let things go that easily," she murmured, before bending lower and pressing a firm kiss to Tsubomi's neck, her eyes lifting to meet the deep brown eyes of the boy who was glaring at her.

Tsubomi fought the instinct to lean in closer to Yaya, instead turning to Daisuke, who was in turn glaring at the brunette, who still had her lips pressed to the pinkette's neck. Tsubomi rolled her eyes and shrugged away from Yaya's lips, but remaining in her embrace. "Yaya-senpai is stubborn," she muttered. "I can't stop you I guess, but you can't just act like you own me all the time."

Yaya pouted but didn't object- as long as she had the pinkette in her arms, she still had a chance. "Fine," she said, sighing dramatically and grinning when Tsubomi giggled for the first time in days. She met Daisuke's gaze with a raised eyebrow- _let's see _you _make her smile like I do._

**PGBR**

Shion led Chikaru into the deserted council room and sat down, sensing the Le Rim president sink into the chair beside her.

"Chikaru," Shion began, dropping her head into her hands, her elbows resting against the table. "It's not that I don't _want _this..."

"What do you want, Shion-chan?" Chikaru asked quietly. "I don't...I used to be able to read you so well, and now, it's like..." She slumped down into her chair, silent tears streaking down her cheeks, and the sight broke Shion's heart.

"Stop," she said, her voice breaking as she tentatively reached out to brush the tears from Chikaru's face. "Please, you shouldn't be upset..."

Sniffing and wiping the tears from her cheeks, Chikaru fell into the stiff Spican president, her facade having completely melted away. After a few moments of silent sobbing, she felt the blonde's arms tighten around her. "How am I supposed to be anything else?" she asked through a broken voice. "Is that why? Do I need to be someone else? What do I need to be to make you happy, Shion-chan?"

Shion flinched at the question. "Of course not," she stated definitively, frowning. "Why would you think-"

Chikaru let out a watery laugh. "Is there something else I'm supposed to think after how you've pushed me away, Shion-chan? I'm sure your new career doesn't demand you sever your ties with the rest of the world."

"I can't..." Shion sighed, allowing Chikaru to lean her head against her narrow shoulders. "I don't have time for any distractions while I'm learning to follow in my father's footsteps." It only took her a few seconds after the brunette pulled away from her to realize her mistake. "I didn't mean-"

Chikaru looked up at her with sad eyes and shook her head. "I think I understand, Shion-chan," she said quietly. "Politics always was your forte." She stood to leave the room, her body slumped in resignation.

"Wait, Chikaru!" Shion called out, grabbing the Le Rim president's wrist, accidentally pulling the smaller girl into her lap. She flushed deeply- she wasn't sure what she'd meant to do, but this certainly wasn't it. Her blush deepened when the brunette didn't move. "Chikaru..."

Chikaru's breath hitched as she took in Shion's scent, her breath dusting the Spican's collarbone. "Give this a chance, Shion-chan," she said quietly, staring at Shion's layered bow, avoiding the blonde's eyes. "Give us a chance."

Shion swallowed as Chikaru ran her fingers over the folds of her white jacket collar and looked down, watching with glazed violet eyes as the Le Rim president gently pulled her down so that their faces were only a few centimeters apart. There was a pause as Chikaru's eyes flickered up to meet Shion's uncertainly, as if for reassurance, and for once letting her heart get ahead of her mind, Shion closed the distance between them.

**I'm not to fond of the last part- it could be way better, but I felt like the storyline had to start going somewhere, if you know what I mean. Leave a review =3**


	7. Six: You Don't Deserve that Girl

**College officially sucks, I really, REALLY shouldn't be writing this right now, but whatever, the fandom's dying and I'm bored so yeah. The one good thing about college is that my roommate listens to a bunch of different music, and it's expanded my iTunes library like, three times as big. Plus she picks out all the best songs, like this one Simple Plan song I'm currently obsessed with :P**

**So guys, I decided to give Daisuke a personality, because let's face it, Yaya doesn't GET IT until she's smacked over the head with it.**

**Shadow Apparation: No, that would take a better imagination than mine- I'm a cuddle whore, so I always focus on that stuff :P Hopefully more of Daisuke's personality will be revealed in this chapter, he's not that bad a guy ;) I'm working on my other fics, but college is kicking my lazy ass right now, this one is just easier to update because it's focused on one or two aspects :P **

**Kenneth Black: Thanks :3 Yep it seems like a lot of people are on Team Yaya ;) Maybe I should make shirts :P**

**Huggler: Aww, thanks, that means a lot to me :3 I don't know, this is just so sudden :O I don't think my girlfriend and/or boyfriend would approve…just kidding, I've got no life, let alone a love life :P But anyway, poor Daisuke doesn't really have a lot of fans, does he? Yeah, you gotta love the protective types :) I think Shion just has trouble wording things, she seemed like that type to me :P Don't worry, there'll be a happy ending :3 I'd probably cry if there wasn't, and that won't do :P**

**Tmj1395: Thanks :) Yeah, the papers just never stop coming . I'm starting to realize why we have such a long Christmas break…though hopefully it'll be fun so I can start over fresh in January :P**

**Keitaro528: Poor Daisuke, nobody really likes him :P Thanks :)**

**Obsidian and Cobalt: Yeah, there's just never enough gaynst in the world ;) Thanks :)**

**SinnX: Ugh, tell me about it. Laptop problems all around, and I ended up getting a crappy replacement too . Thanks :)**

**Regretx993: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it :3**

**Fdlans: I'm afraid you're going to be a bit frustrated with Shion for a while :P Sorry the update took so long, college and whatnot :P **

**XxxxX**

**The Girl is Mine**

**Chapter Six: You Don't Deserve That Girl**

**XxxxX**

It was three hours before the service itself ended, and Mari and Akira had decided before the start of the holidays that they would spend Christmas day at Akira's (and Daisuke's) house.

Yaya wasn't thrilled with this option, but she found it hard to be truly upset with anyone while she had a cute, sleeping pinkette wrapped around her waist.

"Oh, Yaya-chan," Mari said, noticing Tsubomi's position around Yaya, "here, let Hideo take her." She motioned to her husband, and the gruff man stood, prepared to take his daughter from the brunette, but Yaya shook her head.

"It's okay, Mari-sama, I've got her," she said with a tired grin. "She may be a pain, but she's not very heavy." The brunette winked before carefully standing, waiting for Tsubomi to automatically rewrap her arms around her neck before picking her up beneath her legs, stumbling for a moment before she found her balance.

"Really, Nanto-san, it's fine," Daisuke butted in, causing Yaya's eyes to narrow, and her hold on Tsubomi to tighten automatically. "I can carry her- she always used to get tired out when we'd play as kids, and I'd carry her home."

Yaya didn't bother faking a smile like the boy had- instead she scowled and deliberately brushed past him. "Well, that was years ago- she's probably too heavy for you now," the brunette sneered, deliberately looking up and down the boy's lean body, despite the fact that it was much like her own in size.

Daisuke sneered right back. "You just said she wasn't heavy," he stated bluntly, stepping in front of the brunette. Yaya scoffed.

"Do you really want to start this with me?" Yaya growled, shoving past him as well as she could with Tsubomi's weight. Daisuke stepped back in front of her and reached for the pinkette, causing Yaya to recoil, her arms tight around her kouhai. Her jaw tightened. "Back _off _already."

"Stop trying to claim her," Daisuke stated as they neared the car, his shoulders slumped and hands shoved into his pockets. "I think she's made it obvious she doesn't want you back."

Yaya felt her eyes hardening as she carefully set Tsubomi into the car and slid in next to her, wrapping an arm around the pinkette's waist before the boy could. "What do you know?" she snarked. "You think she wants _you_?"

"I think she wants to be given a choice," Daisuke replied, secure in the fact that the adults were having a weary conversation up front. "I think she wants stability. I think she wants to know what's going on, what's going through your head. She knows you want her, that's not in question. But do you care about her?" he asked lowly. Yaya frowned. Of course she did, Tsubomi was her little pinker… "Really care about her? Or is she just a replacement?" Daisuke's eyes softened when he watched the brunette's lips tighten.

"Of course not," she spat. "And just because I'm not in love with her doesn't mean I don't care about her. And she's not a replacement!"

"It doesn't matter," Daisuke replied with a shrug. "She's not asking you to love her, and how can she tell that you care when you keep treating her the same way you did the other girl, the one she told me about? And how can you possibly expect her to believe that she's not a replacement, when _she _was the one you cried to, when _Tsubomi _was the one who had to sit there and listen to you go on and on about how perfect your angel is? How can you expect her to believe that you care about her as anything more than a friend when she had to stand there and listen to you sing the praises of the girl who couldn't be bothered with your love?"

Yaya felt her chest tighten, like all the air was being smothered out of her, and she'd forgotten how to breathe. "She told you…"

Daisuke shrugged. "I talked to her after she started avoiding you. She didn't want to say anything at first, but I think she's been putting her own emotions on hold for a while," he said, "and she opened up to me pretty easily." He paused; Yaya looked ready to burst into tears and strangle him all at once, both of which would be very bad. "Listen," he said in a softer voice. "I know you didn't mean to hurt her, and you can't even be blamed that she is hurt. I know you don't have to feel guilty for any of this because she brought it on herself." Yaya frowned, opened her mouth to protest- "But if you really deserve her, you should. It should make you feel guilty that she's hurting so badly; that she won't believe anything you say to her because of the girl you couldn't stop crying to her about. Because even though it's not your fault, if you truly cared about her, you'd never want her to feel like she's second best."

Daisuke stared at the dumbfounded Yaya for several seconds before pushing out of the car; the girl hadn't even registered that they'd stopped moving.

**PGBR**

"_Where are you going, Shion-chan?"_

The room was dark, empty- she never had seen the point of unpacking only to relocate less than a year later.

And Shion stared up at that dark, speckled ceiling, her insides aching and her head pounding as she tried to figure out what she had done wrong; what she had to do to make it right.

She wondered if this was how that Yaya delinquent felt every day.

After a moment of pondering this, she scoffed at herself. Probably not, she decided. She probably didn't even realize that she'd done anything wrong when she did- after all, last time she'd seen her, she was still oblivious to why that little pink-haired girl had stuck by her side for so long. It certainly wasn't courtesy of her delinquent ways. And even if she ever did realize the truth…

_"This was a mistake."_

Shion frowned, sitting up and staring down at the cold, bronzy metal in the palm of her hand. One half of a broken heart; it had been that way for years now. "Was it all really just…"

"A mistake?"

Shion tensed at the unmistakable sound of Rokujou Miyuki's voice. "I pray for your sake that you don't finish that, Shion."

"Mind your own business, Rokujou," Shion growled, shoving the necklace beneath her pillow and leaping to her feet. She'd be damned if the Miatorian she-devil caught her off guard. "Don't you have better things to do, like chasing down your precious Etoile?"

Miyuki's lips curled into a dry smile. "You've lost your touch, Shion," she said wryly. "It doesn't sting quite so much when you're in a position very much the same as my own." She paused. "But do you know what's ironic? I watch after Shizuma because there's nothing more I can do, and that's all Chikaru can do as well. But you," she said, "you have her everything in the palm of your hand. You're so…" Miyuki paused once more, swallowing as if to steady her voice. "You're so lucky, Shion, and you're too proud to see it. You love her- don't give me that look, you know it as well as I do- and you left her in that room, crying. _Crying, _Shion, when have you ever seen Chikaru cry?"

Shion's knuckles went white as she clenched her hands into tight fists. "Mind your own business, Miyuki," she finally ground out, lifting tired violet eyes to glare into determined brown ones. "This isn't about you."

"It's not only about you, either, Shion," Miyuki retorted in an infuriatingly calm voice as she placed her hand on the doorknob. "More than anything, I think it's about the girl whose heart is hurting the worst."

Shion forced herself to brush the barb away, and stepped forward, jerking Miyuki back before she could leave. "You don't think you're hurting worse than her?" she asked coldly; spitefully. "You don't think you're hurting worse because she'll never love you back?"

Miyuki flinched just the slightest bit before shaking her head and stepping away from the Spican. "I had my time for self-pity, Shion- I had years of it. And even if I hadn't, I think I would be in much, much more pain if I knew that Shizuma loved me back and simply chose not to be with me because the world might not accept us." She paused, leveling the shamed Spican with a steady gaze. "We've had our differences, Shion," she said finally, "but up until this moment, I'm almost ashamed to say that I respected you."

She whisked out of the room, leaving the blonde to stare after her, not really seeing anything but the emptiness ahead of her.

**PGBR**

An hour away, Yaya found herself reclining in the large bed she had asked (insisted) to share with Tsubomi, not really focusing on anything but the stunted conversation she'd had with Daisuke, her arm resting instinctively around the pinkette's waist.

"What are you thinking about?"

Yaya started slightly, blinking herself out of the haze. "Huh?" she asked, turning to face Tsubomi, who was looking up at her with unbridled concern. "Nothing."

Tsubomi huffed, folding her arms over her chest. "Yaya-senpai is lying," she muttered. "You don't concentrate that hard over nothing- you hardly concentrate at _all_."

Yaya grinned at the frustrated pinkette, partially to brush away any remaining concern, but mostly because Tsubomi was just too cute when she was annoyed. The brunette leaned down and pressed an unexpected kiss to the younger girl's head. Tsubomi immediately flushed a deep shade of crimson, but didn't fight the action, instead allowing Yaya to pull her in closer. "I was just thinking about some…important things," she finally decided on, frowning when she felt Tsubomi tense in her arms. "Pinky?"

"Important things," Tsubomi muttered. "Like Hikari?"

Yaya blinked several times, first from the sudden change in Tsubomi's demeanor, then from the callous way in which the kouhai had addressed the blonde. "Uh…no," Yaya said, too confused to say much of anything else.

At some point, every teenage boy and girl interested in other girls learns the golden rule of dating teenage girls- never make them jealous. Teenage girls tend to go just a little bit batshit insane when you get them jealous enough.

Unfortunately, nobody had informed Yaya of this rule, and she really was a bit too thick to have picked up on it herself, so she remained hopelessly confused about Tsubomi's behavior, even as the pinkette shifted out of her arms and rolled onto her side, facing away from the brunette.

Tsubomi knew that Yaya was more than likely to pull her back into her arms once she decided it was time to fall asleep (for about two hours at the most), but for once she really wished she wouldn't. She knew better than to freak out at the brunette by this point; it would only confuse her more, even though every rule in the book stated that she should know exactly what the issue was.

_Something important, huh?_

Tsubomi raised her hand to brush a few stray tears roughly from her eyes. She wasn't stupid, and only just a little bit naïve. Everything that was ever important to Yaya always boiled down to Hikari.

Deep down inside, where she allowed herself to be vulnerable, allowed herself to hurt, Tsubomi wondered if it would always be like this. If she would spend the rest of her life running from Yaya's affection out of fear that one day Hikari would realize her mistake and come back, and then…

_And then what?_

And then Tsubomi would be left alone, forgotten- she doubted Yaya would even have to think twice (or even once) before leaving her for her angel. And Hikari was bound to realize her mistake eventually- how could she not?

**Angsty angsty angsty ANGST :O **

**But seriously guys, isn't Hikari just the biggest bitch? I mean like that secret kind of bitch, the one who tricks everyone into thinking she's really sweet, but then screws everyone over? Come on, we all know someone like that. But seriously, if I ever met anyone like HIKARI in particular, I'd slap her. Ask anyone and they'll say I'm the least violent person they've ever met, but I would slap the SHIT out of Hikari or any girl like her. It'd be a cat fight.**

**I hope this chapter appealed to all of you guys, especially my awesome reviewers (I just made a smiley, oh my god…I don't think it'll come out on FFn though, Word just totally transformed my smiley into an actual face :P). I find it easier to accept my emotions when I write, especially if I find a productive way to influence the story with them. So I hope it turned out okay- please leave a review and I really will try to get around to this next chapter sooner :3**


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